MOMBASA, Nov 12: Kenya tea prices were irregular on Monday, with selected lines weighed down by slack demand due a global oversupply of tea, but other plainer sorts having good demand at stable prices, brokers said.

The impact of the global recession, oversupply of tea worldwide and the war in Afghanistan are some factors behind some of the low prices, one broker said.

Brokers said the prices of Plain Dusts (PDs) and Dusts1s were stable as demand from Pakistan retail traders and Egypt picked up.

For now, the tea supply globally is higher by some 20 per cent compared to last year, he said.

In Kenya alone, tea production estimates have risen sharply this year owing to good rainfall. Production in the first nine months of the year jumped to 216 million kg from 160.3 million kg during the same period last year.

The Tea Board of Kenya also estimates that annual output will rise to 290m kg this year compared to 230m kg in 2000.—Reuters